Paul Hopkins, 37, of Bridge Street, Banbury, admitted stealing DVDs from the Co-op in Chatsworth Drive, Banbury on May 7. Fined £75 and told to pay £25 compensation, a £20 victims' surcharge and £40 costs. William Shepherd, 66, of The Beeches
A MAN who smashed a car window and racially abused a motorist has been allowed to keep his driving licence. Reginald Beager was travelling on the A40 Northern Bypass Road, near Oxford, on April 2 last year. Michael Roques, prosecuting, said
A CARE assistant who smashed into a grandfather as he rode his bike has said she will “never forgive myself” for his death. Sophie Hickman, of Fane Drive, Berinsfield, avoided jail after she admitted causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving
FESTIVALS aren’t just about music, and if anyone is trying to broaden our horizons in one weekend by combining am enormously diverse collection of hobbies, pursuits and hedonism, then it’s Wilderness. From kids’ bushcraft weekends to intellectual
A snap-happy evening of photography taking place at the Ashmolean tomorrow, will be accompanied by a late-night concert in the museum café, featuring Chad Valley. As one of the most prominent members of OX4 arts collective Blessing Force, his electropop
Promoting a local gig is simple, reckons Gappy Tooth Industries founder Richard Catherall. He’s been putting them on monthly with his friend Alan Betteridge under the dentally challenged moniker since 2002, but when asked how he’s managed to run a
Within Oxford’s growing contingent of Americana groups, Empty White Circles are the real deal. A five-piece band led by Connecticut-born brothers Kevin and Sean Duggan, other local acts are hard-pressed to compete with such authentic voices: although
It has a reputation for the being the country’s most relaxed festival; a family-friendly place where African drummers and Venezuelan salsa bands mix with Balkan gypsy groups, Celtic fiddlers and Argentinian tango dancers on the edge of the Cotswolds
Tim Hughes talks to festival director Andy Pickard about Riverside’s 18th anniversary STARTING life as a small gathering for a handful of local bands, Riverside Festival has come of age. Literally. This weekend more than 40 bands and artists
With a line-up of art theatre, debate, rural pursuits and fine-dining, Wilderness is far from the average music festival. Tim Hughes talks to the brains behind it all, Tim Harvey AS the man behind the country’s most diverse music festival, Tim
Going off course on T20 ride It’s been a long couple of weeks since my last column in a typical roller-coaster of a season especially in the form of T20 cricket. Having reached the T20 final last season a lot was expected of Yorkshire to give
It’s been a great two weeks despite the breakdown at Laguna and I never thought I’d ever say it but I’m really looking forward to the summer break. When I was racing in 125 and Moto2, I hated the summer break and just wanted to race all the time
A GROUP has been getting behind a campaign to save a rare meadow by selling cakes. To encourage people to dig deep members of Bicester Green Gym and Langford Community Orchard Group decorated cakes with butterflies and flowers to highlight the
BICESTER’S new £70m town centre redevelopment is a “turning point” for the town. But maintaining the right level of infrastructure is key for the future as the population grows, say town leaders. A fortnight ago the new Sainsbury’s supermarket
Tim Hughes presents his weekly pick of Oxfordshire's best gigs Festival Riverside Mill Field, Charlbury Saturday and Sunday Free In this age of expensive festivals, Riverside is a blast of fresh air. Not only
TWO TV stars are getting in the swing of organising a charity golf day for East Oxford charity Helen and Douglas House. Warren Clarke, of Dalziel and Pascoe fame, and Dennis Waterman, a star of New Tricks, are hosting the day on Friday, September
FIRMS and residents have welcomed the news that rural parts of Oxfordshire are finally to have access to fast broadband, with a £14m investment to boost the local economy. More than 200,000 of the county’s residents and 13,800 businesses are currently
THE needy in east Oxford are to benefit from a fund aiming to leave a legacy from the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Community leaders in the area have launched Her Majesty’s Jubilee Legacy Fund for East Oxford and are looking for donors and fundraisers
THE Oxford University team which transforms academic ideas into commercial reality is celebrating a major milestone. Technology transfer operation Isis Innovation, based in Summertown, has just “spun out” the 100th company in its 25-year history
WORKERS in Kidlington test drove electric cars as part of a new scheme to check how the vehicles will have an impact on the National Grid. My Electric Avenue is now looking for 10 groups, or ‘clusters’, with a minimum of 10 people each to drive
A COLLEGE has strengthened its links with the business community by taking over the management of a home for small firms and entrepreneurs. Oxford & Cherwell Valley College will run the Colin Sanders Innovation Centre in Banbury from the end
INDIA is still considered one of the last places travellers can visit for an authentic experience of a culture that is very different from our own. The only way to describe it to newcomers is as an attack on the senses. Toby and Rajshree Haines-Patel
JOBSEEKERS and employers are being offered a free service designed to match the right people with the right vacancies. The Get Oxfordshire Working Campaign gives firms the opportunity of flagging up their vacancies free every Thursday in the Oxford
BY the time he hit his mid-30s, Martin Langley was deputy head of an Oxfordshire independent school earning £43,000 a year. But in a dramatic twist worthy of a film script, he quit to work for next to nothing at a local cinema. Since then,
A HOUSEBUILDING company has announced it is creating 10 new apprenticeships in regions covering Oxfordshire. As part of a national recruitment drive, Persimmon Homes said it was looking for on-site apprentices in brick-laying and joinery. Managing
COUNTY councillors have ignored district colleagues and approved “imaginative” plans for a new £6.5m primary school in Bicester. Members of the county council’s planning committee dismissed Cherwell District Council’s advice when it approved plans
RUNNER Dave Eggleton is taking on the Oxford Half Marathon and a hair-raising challenge to raise cash for Helen and Douglas House. The Didcot 43-year-old, who is a member of the Didcot Wave Joggers, will be joining thousands of others on Sunday
Electrocomponents announced last week that it had seen modest sales growth during the first quarter of the financial year, although the domestic market proved a drag on performance. The electronics group based at the Oxford Business Park posted
HE may still be best known as the frontman of Oxford psych-pop band Fixers, but Jack Goldstein is much more than that. The Eynsham polymath has become one of the most interesting and bravest artists playing, not just here but anywhere, seemingly determined
Tim Hughes falls under the sublime spell of Oxford-raised a capella trio Voice Voice Musical Harmony voicetrio.co.uk WHILE the party people were getting down to a banging line-up of rock, pop and Americana at Truck
Holly Reading steers a course for Steventon - for the ever-impressive Truck festival Truck Hill Farm, Steventon This year’s Truck Festival saw a veritable feast of musical delights from an eclectic array of acts. Truck
Eccentric, extravagant and enigmatic, Empire of the Sun come from a strange place. Not just any strange place, either. Theirs is a fabulous fantasy world all of their own. And, they’d be the first to agree, that makes them more than a little odd.
TWO years ago James French secured training with the Royal Ballet School in Covent Garden, London. In September, the 11-year-old from Didcot will join the school full-time at White Lodge in Richmond, and will appear in The Nutcracker at the Royal
Last week’s column was done and dusted when I learned from The Times’s diary that — as I correctly speculated in it — the broadcaster Alan Whicker had indeed been much amused by Monty Python’s Whicker Island sketch. He had watched it on television
Don’t get me wrong: I like it hot. But it’s too hot, isn’t it? I wandered my flat at 2am the other night looking for a cool square of laminate to lie on, like a panting pet Labrador. And so to a raft of new problems for this inept allotmenteer
It’s a model that has worked for 42 years and shows no sign of abating, but Mikron is still a novel concept by anyone’s standards. And proving as popular as ever... and as topical as always. The narrowboat which winds its way from Yorkshire and
THE rector of Exeter College, Frances Cairncross, today sets out on an epic journey that will wear out plenty of shoe leather. As part of the college’s 700th anniversary celebrations, Miss Cairncross aims to walk 160 miles from Exeter to Oxford
PLANS for 48 affordable new homes on a disused allotment site have been welcomed by Littlemore residents. A planning application has been submitted by Oxford City Council for East Minchery Allotments site in Priory Road. The council now wants
A LEADING street designer has made suggestions on how St Giles could be improved for pedestrians. Ben Hamilton-Baillie gave a talk on Tuesday night to a special joint meeting of cycling society Cyclox and Oxford Pedestrians’ Association (OXPA)
LIKE Marmite, shoppers in Didcot will either love or hate The Swirl – a new sculpture in the Orchard Centre costing £85,000. South Oxfordshire District Council says the piece of public art will be installed on top of the steps next to Sainsbury
A PLAN to turn Wantage’s former police station into sheltered housing has been criticised as a waste of potential commercial space. Police vacated the building in Church Street, which also used to house Wantage Magistrates’ Court, in March.
WORKMEN have almost finished building a dam at Osney Island that will allow construction of a power-generating turbine. Piles have been driven into the ground to build the cofferdam over the past three weeks, to push back the Thames before the
OFFER 1: The school holidays are here, and finding something for the kids to do can quickly become a headache, especially if you don’t want to spend a fortune. But don’t just sit there! It’s time to do something about it and enter our competition to
SEVEN Oxfordshire oarsmen are in the Great Britain team for the World Junior Championships in Lithuania from August 7-11. Abingdon School’s Ian Middleton, Joel Cooper and Matthew Carter are in the men’s eight for the regatta in Trakai, together
JAMES Bolton made it three Oxfordshire Road Race Grand Prix victories in a row with a dominant display in the Hornton Classic Six. The 40-year-old Woodstock Harriers stalwart completed the hilly six-mile course near Banbury in 32mins 38secs to
OXFORD University athlete Fabian Downs collected a victory and a second place in a successful week. Downs won the Waddesdon Manor 5K by ten seconds in a time of 15mins 56secs, while Alchester’s Sam Usher was the second lady home in 19.54. He
FARINGDON: Coxwell Road and Coxwell Street will be closed until August 21. The roads closed yesterday so that housing developers at the western end of Coxwell Road can build new sewers. During this time Stagecoach buses 65 and 66 will not be
A burger van owner has been told he cannot sell fried food during school hours. Mehmet Yilmaz has been running his First Class Diner van in Warneford Lane, Headington, Oxford, since April. But in May the headteacher of nearby Cheney School,
OLYMPIC swimmer Cassie Patten is encouraging swimmers to take the plunge in an open water challenge. The Olympic bronze and world championship silver medallist will support the British Gas SwimBritain event at Blenheim Palace. The open water
HORNTON CLASSIC SIX (senior men unless stated) Headington RR: 17 I Meadowcroft (1st V50) 39.14, 21 E Byard 40.05, 36 A Hopkins (3rd LV35) 43.23, 39 P Brame 43.51, 49 A Felton 44.52, 62 H Marshall 47.11, 66 C Howarth (SL) 47.50, 68 M Johnson
As a seven-year-old, R.M. Tudor (Becky), who lives in Marston, wanted to be a teacher and an author. Her dream has come true: she teaches at the Cherwell School in Oxford, and she has written a story for 8-12-year-olds. Box 1571 (Create Space,
A Corner of Paradise is the third volume of the memoirs of Brian Thompson, who lives in Oxford, and follows the award-winning Keeping Mum, about his wartime childhood, and Clever Girl, about growing up in the 1950s. The subtitle, A Love Story (
‘There probably are quite a lot of people — more than might be supposed — who, like myself, feel that another newspaper photograph of a member of the royal family will be more than they can bear.” This is a good week in which to be reminded of
The Tree Hotel 63 Church Way, Iffley, OX4 4EY 01865 775974 iffley.treehotel.co.uk In line with its long-practised policy of keeping out the proles, the village of Iffley remains unvisited in the evening by anything so vulgar as a bus
Add grated courgettes to a standard bread recipe and you are not just adding flavour, but extra moisture to the dough. This means it keeps for longer than most, makes the most delicious toast and tastes fantastic when smothered with butter.
OXFORD: Cowley-based charity Oxfam has announced that its income is down £17.6m to £367.9m in 2012-13 on the previous year which was £385m. Despite this the charity has spent an extra £3.6m responding to humanitarian emergencies like the Syria crisis
COMEDY club chain Glee, which has a venue in Oxford, has launched legal action against the makers of the hit TV show of the same name. Comic Enterprises Ltd has said 20th Century Fox infringed its trademark when it launched its show about a high
SOUTHERN LEAGUE OXFORD City edged out hosts Serpentine by eight points to win their Division 3 North meeting at Battersea Park. City lie third in the table with one round to go, knowing that another victory will see them return to Division
RADLEY’S Sweatshop Southern League Division 1 title hopes suffered a blow when they were edged out by Southampton in round four at Tilsley Park. Southampton’s victory took them two points clear of Radley with one round to go, despite a fine effort
Most gardeners are familiar with that moment when courgettes don’t just flourish, but begin taking over the entire vegetable patch. If ignored, even for a couple of days at the height of summer, these prolific little vegetables develop overnight into
OXFORD: An inquest into the death of an Oxford filmmaker is due to take place today. Gordon Wilson, 47, worked on Channel 4’s Scunthorpe-based reality documentary Skint. The hit show about unemployment, crime and drugs was aired in his memory
BICESTER’S Tom Gould (pictured) is all smiles after meeting Paula Radcliffe at the Olympic Stadium in London. The under 15 athlete finished second in the National Lottery Family Run at the London 2012 venue. Gould completed the 2.5km race in
THREE STARS FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is one of the best and brightest operatives in the New York field office run by Hale (Demian Bichir). Unfortunately, her lack of people skills rubs colleagues up the wrong way,
THREE STARS Hugh Jackman owes a great deal of his enduring popularity to the muscular swagger and trademark sideburns of Wolverine. The Australian actor first donned the Adamantium claws of the hirsute Marvel Comics superhero in the 2000
OXFORD: A thief on a bicycle snatched an iPad from a 46-year-old man walking in Headington. The theft happened in Headington Road at about 11.30am last Wednesday. Call police on 101 with information.
OXON: Today is the last chance to vote for local girl Lindsey Russell, pictured, to become the next Blue Peter presenter. From 20,000 applicants Ms Russell, 22, from Blewbury, got through to the final three in a televised contest to find the 36th
TUBNEY: A 47-year-old man remains in a stable condition with serious injuries following a two-car smash. Police are appealing for witnesses, in particular the driver of a Mercedes, for information about the collision on Monday. At 2.22pm a black
OXFORD: An inquest opened yesterday into the death of a teenager who collapsed in Hinksey Park on Saturday. Martha Fernback, 15, of north Oxford, suffered a cardiac arrest. She was pronounced dead by doctors at the John Radcliffe Hospital at 2.17pm
I AM replying to Pamela St Clair’s reply to Sheila English’s letter (July 17) “There is more cruelty to animals taking place behind closed doors.” Ms St Clair confidently states that “Standing in the rain with cold hands and feet, will not help
SINCE Animal Aid first began exposing widespread and commonplace cruelty inside UK slaughterhouses four years ago, we have campaigned for mandatory CCTV to be installed in abattoirs. The supermarkets listened and acted quickly but the Government
I AM wondering if I have missed something when we are told there is a shortage of houses for people in this country. Also the hospitals cannot cope or manage on their budgets and young teenagers cannot find jobs. I just wonder if it might be
I FOUND the recent swan upping was a big disappointment. We were really looking forward to seeing the swan upping at Abingdon Bridge on Friday, July 19. The time was advertised as 5.30pm so we were there early, only to be told that the boats
ROYAL babies learn quickly. As Kate left hospital with the new baby, he gave a royal wave. ADRIAN TAYLOR Duncan Close Eynsham
STAFF at the Ashmolean Museum are hoping tomorrow’s Live Friday event will reel in the visitors. Earlier this year, the attraction in Beaumont Street launched the monthly series of late-night openings and the latest evening, Exposed!, focuses on
I WOULD like to thank all the good-natured and helpful staff at Drayton Recycling Centre in Steventon Road. I am a frequent visitor with quite large amounts of garden waste and recycling items to dispose of and I always receive cheerful help with
WE have never had reason to visit Tower Hill cemetery until now, but after reading so many recent articles about it, we went to see it for ourselves. We now want to congratulate the town council and their workforce on the management of such a large
BAFA National Division South Conference Oxford Saints’ play-off hopes are all but over following a 27-0 drubbing at leaders Solent Thrashers. Saints were unable to register a point as Thrashers took their 100 per cent record to eight wins from
OUR esteemed leaders on the county council would probably argue there’s no such thing as too many Tories. In fact, they could do with a few more to secure a working majority. But in a rare turn of events, they ended up with one Tory too many on
Oxford City Stars are hoping to pull in the crowds by moving two matches to Saturday evenings after they successfully applied to remain in National Ice Hockey League 2 South for this season. The reigning NIHL2 champions will be trialling the new
Johnsons Buildbase Oxford Summer League Marlborough Club A kept up their challenge for the Group B title with a 4-2 home success over Gladiators Club, writes PETE EWINS. Adam Ingram, Callum Bowler (9,280) and a first win for Danielle Chewings
OXON: A husband was found dead in bed two days after his wife died, an inquest heard yesterday. Christopher Church, 38, was found at his mother’s home in Cardigan Street, Jericho, on March 3. The medical cause of death was aspiration pneumonitis
THE eight-year long drive for a Bomber Command (BC) campaign medal was overtaken on April 30, 2012 when Prime Minister David Cameron decided to appoint Sir John Holmes as chairman of a military medals review panel to make recommendations about World
I HAVE been reading Hugh Jaeger’s letter on buses in Oxford city, (July 16) above. I agree with what he says and as an older person the distance between bus stops concerns me very much. If we could have through buses before, surely we could have
A CAR salesman found with a handgun and around £385,000 of “very pure” cocaine said he was only acting as a “custodian” for the stash. But Umair Khan, of Nye Bevan Close, Oxford, admitted one count of possessing the Class A drug with intent to
I CAN assure those supporting free vehicular access to Tower Hill cemetery that marked graves have been damaged by cars. My wife’s grandmother’s grave, which has headstone and kerbing, has been seriously damaged on three separate occasions.
The goals came raining in as Oxford B edged out Bicester 5-4 in the Oxfordshire Women’s Summer League final. Kim Haynes and Claire Hooper bagged braces and Ellie Gilroy also netted as Oxford established a 5-2 lead, and looked to be crusiing to
BRITISH MILERS’ CLUB NIKE GRAND PRIX RICHARD Peters and Jonny Mellor became only the second duo to break the four-minute mile barrier in the same race on Oxford’s Iffley Road track. Peters pipped Mellor for victory in the elite men’s mile race
N OXON: A total of 25 jobs have been created at the Bicester branch of a logistics firm as part of a maintenance contract awarded by the Ministry of Defence. Wincanton will be responsible for storing and dispatching Bowman radios used by the Armed
Union leaders at the Cowley Mini plant are threatening to hold a ballot for strike action after BMW unveiled pension changes. After months of talks with union leaders, the German firm is pressing ahead with plans to close the final salary scheme
ABINGDON: A man standing at a bus stop was abused and attacked by a group of men. The 35-year-old suffered injuries to his face and leg when he was punched and kicked in the assault in Stratton Way on Friday at about 11.30pm. Investigating
Police smashed their way into a suspected drug dealer’s home in a bid to rattle an alleged organised crime network. The window of the Kidlington semi-detached house was shattered shortly after 7am yesterday – the same time four Oxford addresses
AN Oxfordshire council will continue its fight with other local authorities after losing a court challenge over the High Speed 2 train project yesterday. Cherwell District Council was among 15 councils, along with residents’ associations, which
THE public is easily outraged by cruelty and neglect of animals, often more so than for violence committed against adults. It is an emotional response and an understandable one, although often our courts will endeavour to put those sentiments aside
OXFORD United’s young players will not be allowed to forget their stunning 5-1 mauling at Oxford City on Tuesday night – because the pre-season friendly was being filmed. United’s side, which included 90-minutes performances from striker James
A MOTHER and son who ran a rescue centre which “exploited” animals and the public have been jailed. Angela and Robert Russell are now behind bars after being convicted of “prolonged neglect” at Crunchy’s Animal Rescue in Longworth. Four other members
The first official heatwave since 2006 and everyone is looking for ways to cool down. Every child on the street is licking on an ice cream or lolly. Why should children have all the fun? I say, get out the juices, add a touch of spirits and enjoy
The B4017 Steventon near to the railway bridge has been closed both ways this morning due to emergency repairs and a burst water main between the A4130 and Hanney Road.
An accident on the M40 Southbound between junction seven of the A40/A329 at Thame and junction six of the B4009 at Watlington has caused delays. One lane of three is closed after the accident, which took place at around 5.45am this morning.
It’s little wonder that news of almost any pub sale in Oxfordshire appears to stir immediately fears of closure these days. It does not matter whether it is some thatched inn deep in the countryside or city centre local, the prospect of permanent
From cold-calling and energy-switching to scams and payday loans, Oxfordshire’s Consumer Empowerment Partnership works to raise awareness of issues like these across the county. The partnership is a network of consumer and support groups, advice
The 100th British Chess Championship takes place in Torquay and runs for two weeks from July 28. Ten grandmasters have entered so far, headed by the best two young players in Britain: 23-year-old David Howell and 25-year-old Gawain Jones. Oxfordshire
For the many drivers stuck in their cars as they commute into Oxford, the finer points of transport policy might seem unrelated to their daily experience. But when it comes to traffic some of the slightest changes can have the biggest impacts —
Filmed in digital monochrome and infused with a playful self-reflexivity that recalls the nouvelle vague, Noah Baumbach's Frances Ha wants to be so many things. It wants to be as irreverent as a Saturday Night Live sketch and as sophisticated as a
There's a Western feel to this week's DVD column and, in the time-honoured tradition, we start with a programmer. In fact, we have a double bill of Bs from the Poverty Row outfit, Producers Releasing Corporation. In 1941, Bob Steele vacated the role
OXFORD: A copy of Jane Austen’s juvenilia entitled Volume the First is to be published by the Bodleian Library. The book takes its name from the inscription on the cover and includes stories, plays and verses she wrote during her teenage years.
OXFORD: The consultation into Oxford City Council’s proposed redevelopment of Oxpens finishes on Monday. The city council wants to completely redevelop the area between Osney Lane and the ice rink to provide housing, student accommodation and business
IT took careful timing but these two pianists struck the right notes in a church concert. Ana Luisa Monteiro and Ana Margarida played The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky on Monday at St Michael at the North Gate in Cornmarket Street. The Very
OXFORD: New research from Oxford University suggests premenopausal women with high levels of sex hormones in their blood have an increased risk of breast cancer. Data on hormone levels in the blood of up to 760 premenopausal women with breast cancer
A SUMMIT was held in London yesterday to look at how child sex exploitation can be tackled in the wake of Operation Bullfinch. The Government set up the Child Sexual Exploitation Task Force after the Oxford grooming gang was convicted in May of
BANBURY: A music project between a youth charity and Cherwell District Council ended on a high note this month. Cherwell District Council worked with BYHP (Supporting Young People in Housing Need) on the Talent Revival music software and technology
OXFORD: Visitors to Oxford Brookes University still have a chance to view an exhibition on the Man Booker Prize after its run was extended. The display celebrates the university’s 10-year role as the archive’s custodian and a range of publicity
THE NSPCC is bidding to bring child sexual exploitation lessons to Oxfordshire primary schools over fears that vital safety messages are being missed. The child protection charity is seeking volunteers to do its free ChildLine service assemblies
WE have said many times that the horrors of the Bullfinch case did not end with the trial that convicted the perpetrators. The hard work has only just begun, as lessons learned from the past are, hopefully, applied with vigour to ensure there is
A CAFÉ owner who has closed his business down after 23 fears for the future of Headington’s shopping district. Majid Yazdani closed down Café Noir on the corner of Osler Road and London Road earlier this month. The 45-year-old said he made
FOUR STARS While the course of true love never did run smooth, the path towards happiness explored in Save the Last Dance for Me surely presents the couple travelling along it with at least one bump too many. Each time Luton lovely Marie (Elizabeth
Anything with the word ‘Proms’ in its title breathes promise of an exciting musical feast, and the Oxford Proms, established in 2011, certainly tick all the right boxes. From just two concerts in its first two years, the Oxford Proms series has
When I first visited the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition years ago, I didn’t really know what to expect, except that it was a historical art event (now in its 245th year) that was part of the London summer calendar. Over time I became used to the
Theatre THAT IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW Oxford Playhouse Thursday September 5 n Box office: 01865 305305 oxfordplayhouse.com During the Second World War, the grounds of Bletchley Park housed some of Britain’s greatest minds. Alongside Alan
Are the crimes of Gary Glitter so heinous as to convince the BBC that he must be purged from pop chart history — or rather, at least, that his chart entries must not be heard? I ask this because of a recent edition of Pick of the Pops, a programme
Take a look — it may be your last look — at one of the most important buildings in Oxford. It is the city’s Register Office, built exactly a century ago to the design of architect William Austin Daft. Oxford City Council wants done with it. Ta-ta,
FOUR STARS Dahl’s darkness is allowed to shine in David Wood’s adaptation for stage. So much so that my youngster looked up at me with chin all a-tremble during the interval and asked: “Why did that rhino have to kill James’ parents, Mummy
FOUR STARS Placing the Alice in Wonderland story in the context of the personal life of the girl, Alice Liddell, about whom and to whom it was told is not a bad idea. Indeed, it might seem an exceptionally good one for a production in the
Lee Hall’s The Pitmen Painters tells a story quite extraordinary — of a group of miners who make it big in the world of art — and its stage history, like that of Hall’s other smash hit Billy Elliot, is scarcely less so. “As a playwright you expect
Charles Darwin scored his problems by walking round a wood and kicking a stone, even as a child. A one-stone problem was trivial, but if he got up to a ten-stone problem it was a different matter. I score my summers in a similar way, by the
When you walk along the Thames towpath through Oxford, or have a picnic beside the river in Abingdon or Henley, spare a thought for the destination of those dark waters flowing past you, and through them the ways that we connect with rare undersea
